The Girl Next Door

Chapter 1

Hermione shifted nervously from foot to foot as she waited for the door to open. She held the plate of warm cookies out in front of her like an offering, half wishing no one would open the door so she could escape back to the relative safety of her flat. But then she would have a whole batch of fresh baked cookies all to herself. Not the best idea.

Just as she was about to give up and make her way back down to her door, she heard a crash and muffled cursing coming from behind the closed door in front of her. Not too muffled though; the old building had thin, uninsulated walls, and she had to admit, she was rather impressed by her new neighbor's vocabulary. Her own catalog of curse words wasn't nearly as extensive.

Suddenly the door swung open, making Hermione jump, though she had been expecting it. She forced a smile onto her face to look up into the man's grey eyes, and nearly took a step back at the hostility she found there.

"What," He said flatly. Surely meant to be a question, but without the accompanying inflection making it so.

She stared at him dumbly for a moment before dropping her eyes and stuttering, "I-I-I'm Hermione. I live next door. I know you've been moving in all day, so I thought you may like a treat." With this, she raised her offering up to him.

When he didn't respond, she glanced up at him again and was relieved to find the hostility gone from his eyes, having been replaced with clear amusement. He leaned his shoulder against the door frame and his lips quirked into a smirk, eyes crinkling in the corners.

"Are you making an offering to me?" He asked. His voice held more emotion this time, clearly inflecting a question. His voice was deep and raspy, with an amused warmth to it that brought a smile to her lips.

"Yes?" She said, making it sound like a question, "I... Well, I didn't get along great with the guy who lived here before."

That was an understatement. Her previous neighbor, who had lived here a good thirty years before she had moved in nearly three years ago, was a miserable old coot. He hated her on sight for the mere fact that she was young and a woman, two facts which he clearly thought were unforgivable sins. She knew he had kept a diary of her comings and goings and was always ratting on her to the landlord every time she jostled her keys too loudly in the hallway. She had been thrilled when he had moved out two months ago. Or maybe he had died? Either way, he was gone, and she finally had some peace.

And she hoped to keep it that way. Hence the cookie offering. But she hadn't meant to admit the bad terms she had been on with her previous neighbor to this man.

"I just mean... Well... He was... Umm..." Hermione felt her cheeks redden fiercely at her stumbling and as the man's smirk grew to a grin. She stopped speaking and took a deep breath before continuing, "He was not my biggest fan. And I was hoping to perhaps buy some goodwill from you with some fresh baked cookies."

The man glanced down at the plate, "Fresh baked, hmm?" He asked with obvious interest, "I think that would be payment enough to buy some initial goodwill."

He stepped back and pulled the door open wide, jerking his head to the side in invitation.

Hermione's eyes bulged. She was just meant to hand the plate of cookies off to him, not enter his flat alone and unprotected, with a man she didn't even know. He could be a serial killer, for all she knew.

"Well?" He prompted at her hesitation.

"I don't even know your name," Hermione practically whispered, her voice thick with nerves.

He grinned again, and the sight made her relax somewhat. He reached out his left hand to take the plate from her, then extended his right hand for her to shake, "Sirius Black. Pleasure to meet you."

Hermione smiled at him as she shook his hand and stepped into his apartment, hoping against hope she wouldn't end up on the missing persons list.

The entry hallway was littered with boxes, and she had to carefully pick her way through, following Sirius. When the hallway opened up to the living area, she gasped. Sirius shot her a questioning look, and she blushed, "This place is huge!"

"Huge" may have been an overstatement. The living room opened into a dining area and kitchen, making the space seem much larger than it probably was. Compared to her tiny flat, it was like entering a mansion.

"Is it?" Sirius asked, looking around, "Could have fooled me."

Hermione huffed out a nervous laughed, "You should see my place," his raised eyebrow made her blush more, "It's not much bigger than a postage stamp. You could fit my whole flat into this space alone with room to spare."

"I was under the impression all the flats were identical," Sirius questioned as he slid the plate of cookies onto the littered countertop.

"So was I. I can't believe Old Man Mills lived in this place!"

Sirius shot her a smile, "I hope I don't become Old Man Black to you."

She laughed, genuinely this time, "Oh you won't. We're already off to a better start, not to mention he had forty years on you, at least."

"Good to know. I can't really offer you a drink past tap water. I haven't been round to the shop yet and things are a little sparse."

"Oh that's fine. Hopefully the cookies stand on their own," Hermione smiled as she watched him take a bite.

He smiled at her widely when he had swallowed, "Really good. Do you bake often?"

"Not as often as I like," she perched carefully at the edge of the stool he had waved her to, grabbing a cookie from the plate, "My kitchen leaves a lot to be desired, and it can be frustrating to do much more than boil an egg. But I love it, so I do it when I can."

"You don't seem particularly enthralled with your flat. Why are you still here? This isn't exactly a prime real estate location."

His question made her stupidly blush again, "I had roommates all throughout University and hated sharing my space. So, after graduation, I was determined to live on my own. Unfortunately, all I could afford on my starter salary without a roommate was this place. And believe me, I looked."

"What is it you do?"

"Pediatric nurse. It's work I love, and it pays well enough, but the office is downtown and if I don't live nearby, I wouldn't be able to stand the commute."

He nodded in understanding, taking another cookie. She took a moment to study him. He was probably in his mid-forties she decided and had a rather rough and scruffy look about him, which she though suited his raspy rock'n roll voice well. His dark brown hair was long and was pulled back into a messy ponytail. It obviously had wave to it, judging by the curling ends that framed his face.

His beard was longer than appropriate, and it was clearly from lack of grooming rather than intentional choice of length. It was beginning to thread through with grey, though there was no evidence of it in his hair.

He wore a grey t-shirt with an old rock band's logo, with ripped up jeans. And he had tattoos. Lots of them. She couldn't really make out what they were. They looked more like symbols than pictures, but they were all in black ink, and though she wasn't usually a huge fan of that particular look, they seemed to suit him.

When the silence had stretched out too long to be comfortable, she asked, "So, what's your excuse? You obviously know this isn't the best place to live, why are you moving in?"

He appeared to mull over her question for a moment, and it appeared to be his turn to study her. Uncomfortable with the scrutiny, she dropped her eyes and nervously patted down her wild honey brown curls. When he didn't say anything, she looked up again and met his eyes. Then he shrugged, "My ex had a better lawyer than me."

"Ahhh,"Hermione responded, unsure what else to say.

Silence fell again, and she reached for a change in topic. "So, what do you do?" She very nearly cringed at the cliché question, but Sirius answered without hesitation, "I work in construction. Mostly rehab work on older buildings."

"That's probably pretty big business right now with the old warehouse conversions going on all over the city."

"We do alright," he said.

"Maybe the landlord will hire you to rehab this place," Hermione joked halfheartedly. Sirius barked out a laugh that made her jump.

"I hope not. We wouldn't be able to afford it then."

She grinned at him, then deciding that she should perhaps quit while she was ahead, she stood and said, "Well, I'll leave you to it. It was nice to meet you, Sirius."

"You to, Hermione. You can stop by anytime if you bring something else fresh baked," his wink made her smile again as he led her to the door.

Once she was back in her flat, she let out a whoosh of air. That had gone better than she expected.